Quality Control

Quality Control in the context of our work aims to provide our Clients with a professional oversight of proposed or on going building works to enable them to receive a quality product and service.

We introduced this service following a number of clients contacting us frustrated, disillusioned and disappointed with the standard of workmanship and notably relationship tensions they were experiencing with their Contractor on site.

This service is therefore designed to avoid the pitfalls of project work by giving our Clients the professional input that they require to make informed decisions whilst permitting us to act on their behalf in respect of interaction with the Contractor and providing expert advice on products and their uses.

It is a limited service, our silver service, and therefore costs less but remains bespoke to our Client. We can however provide a full Project Management service to include Contract Administration, our gold service, if requested.

Maintaining quality includes management of the following operations:

• assessing the Clients requirements
• checking the specification and drawings
• ensuring an appropriate contract is in place
• site inspections as agreed with the Client
• snagging
• reviewing the final handover including obtaining guarantees, certificates etc.

Quality Control is very difficult to achieve on a building site, in a Client’s home or in the industrial environment because so much is reliant on the standard of workmanship and the proficiency of each of the tradesmen employed.

The main way in which quality control is maintained is by regular and periodic inspections of the work and materials used before they are covered up. It is therefore often the case that weekly inspections are undertaken by our trained and experienced Chartered Surveyors. The frequency of inspections is important but also the timing of the inspection, for example before underground drainage is covered up.

We want to ensure that our Client receives what has been specified, expected and paid for thereby ensuring they are not foisted with an inferior product.

As Chartered Building Surveyors we are specialists in identifying the cause of defects. Our day-to-day Surveys and inspections mean that we inspect a range of different buildings and building types, many of which have been modified and altered by various Contractors. Our experience helps us to know what to look for and can reveal tell-tale signs of concealment, even if accidental.

As we are our Client’s agent we can have an input in the valuation process and the certification of interim payments.

Legally we stand outside the building contract which is between the Client and the Contractor. We endeavour to maintain a relationship with both parties to achieve a satisfactory result in terms of cost and quality.

When change happens our problem-solving expertise comes into play using leadership and communication skills. We are able to see the whole picture, whereas very often tradesmen concentrate on their particular speciality. As work proceeds we also manage the contract variations in such a way as to reduce delays and maintain progress without a loss of quality.